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Reviews
Marci X (2003)
add this one to the list of the year's worst
since i was fortunate enough to avoid both gigli and from justin to kelly, i thought i would be able to go all summer without seeing how truly horrible some of the movies are that hollywood continues to churn out each week, but then i saw marci x.
while obviously this one wasn't going to win any oscars, i thought it would at least be somewhat humorous, but i couldn't have been more wrong. while i realize that writer paul rudnick was trying to parody a few other things/people throughout the story, this film is choked full of more stereotypes than i cared to count. the story line was ridiculously stupid and the acting was mediocre at best. i was honestly ready to walk out less than 15 minutes into the film.
overall, the most laughs my friends and i got out of this movie was making fun of how bad it was, after it was over.
if there are any questions about why hollywood isn't making any money, movies like this are your answer.
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001)
Jay and Silent Bob Score a Hit
The two New Jersey stoners, Jay and Silent Bob, best known for their appearances in the first four View Askew films (Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, and Dogma), return to form in the Askewniverse reunion / finale picture Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. The story goes that the duo, played by Jason Mewes and director Kevin Smith, has recently discovered that a movie is being made based on the comic book `Bluntman and Chronic,' which happens to be a fictional representation of their real life personas, a la Chasing Amy. After discovering the Internet and reading bad comments about the movie's characters posted on a website, they go on a cross-country mission to stop its production to avoid further negative comments about their alter egos and, ultimately, themselves.
However, the strength of the film lies not with the plot, but rather with the cameos, the rips of other better known movies, and the tie-ins from all four prior Askewniverse pictures. When more than a handful of Hollywood stars get together to make a movie, the result is oftentimes regrettable. This is not the case with Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, with appearances by everyone from current teen heartthrobs to screen legends. Stars appearing in the film include James Van Der Beek, Carrie Fisher, Wes Craven, Alanis Morissette, Scooby Doo and the Gang, Jon Stewart, George Carlin, Gus Van Sant, Morris Day and the Time, and Shannen Doherty just to name a few.
Apart from calling in favors from seemingly every actor, actress, and director in Hollywood, Kevin Smith does his best to pick at films that have marked the movie industry since the late 1970's. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back takes aim at both classics, such as Star Wars and E.T., and more recent movies, such as Charlie's Angels, Good Will Hunting, and Scream. As not to forget his faithful Askewniverse fans, Smith does an excellent job tying in images, characters, places, and ideas from his first four films.
While it isn't necessary to see Smith's other movies first to enjoy this one, some of the dialogue makes a lot more sense and many of the jokes are a lot funnier because they flow right from the other films, a skill that many of today's directors have trouble with when doing sequels. Although Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back is littered with the types of foul language and crude sexual humor that has become common to movies such as American Pie and Scary Movie, Smith does not depend solely on these things as a source of entertainment for his audiences. Smith's final Askewniverse film not only lives up to the standards set by its predecessors, but it also completes a series that will be admired and enjoyed for many years to come, without a feeling of loose ends still needing to be tied.